Jay Sean – Most Successful British/European Urban Artist in US Has Indian Roots

British Indian recording artist Jay Sean on a float during the 2009 India Day Parade in New York

Background:

Jay Sean was born Kamaljeet Singh Jhooti in Hounslow, West London, England, to Sharan and Bindi Jhooti, Punjabi Sikh immigrants from India. He was raised in Southall and displayed musical talent at an early age. At age 11, he and his cousin Pritpal Rupra formed a hip hop duo named “Compulsive Disorder”. His stage name at the time was MC “Nicky J”, with the “J” being derived from the first letter of his last name “Jhooti”. He eventually came to be known by the nickname “Jay” among his friends.

He later enrolled in Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London, to study medicine before he dropped out in 2003 to pursue a singing career. For his music career, he chose the stage name Jay Sean; “Jay” was the nickname his friends knew him as (derived from his previous stage name “Nicky J”), while “Sean” is derived from “Shaan”—a nickname he was called at home by his grandmother—which means “shining star” or “pride” in Punjabi.

And Now:

On 15 October 2008 during the MOBO Awards, Jay Sean announced that he had signed with the American hip-hop oriented record label Cash Money Records distributed via Universal Republic Records making him the first British Asian singer to sign with an American label. His American-debut single was “Down” featuring American rapper and label mate Lil Wayne. It topped the Billboard Hot 100, replacing Black Eyed Peas. This makes him the first British Asian artist to top the Hot 100 since Freddie Mercury of Queen in 1980 (Yes, Freddie Mercury was Indian as well), and the first solo Asian artist to do so. Having sold three million copies, “Down” is the best-selling single by a British/European male artist in North America since Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” in 1997. In addition, “Down” rose in airplay to over 115 million listener impressions on US radio. In November 2009, Sean’s next single from his album, “Do You Remember,” was released. It entered the Hot 100 top ten on the week of January 9, 2009 breaking “a three-week streak of no titles moving into the top 10″ since December 2009.

Source: Jay Sean, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jay_Sean&oldid=335348122 (last visited Jan. 3, 2010).